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Ink curing apparatus and method

Active Publication Date: 2017-01-26
BROWN MFG GRP
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method of curing ink on fabric by using radiant heat to speed up the process of removing solvent from the ink. The method involves controlling the heating elements to apply heat to the article and monitor its temperature. This allows for better control over the curing process, reducing bleeding of garment dye to the ink and ensuring a uniform quality. Overall, the method improves the efficiency and quality of ink curing on fabric.

Problems solved by technology

Known IR dryers cannot maintain the cure temperature for the amount of time required by the new inks, and gas dryers must be too large to handle the higher volume of product produced by the new generation of industrial digital printers.

Method used

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  • Ink curing apparatus and method
  • Ink curing apparatus and method
  • Ink curing apparatus and method

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0033]Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a heating apparatus 10 is for heating an object according to a given temperature profile and includes a housing 11 housing one or more thermal imaging sensors 12 that are configured to image thermal radiation of an object, such as a textile object that is digitally printed with ink or with ink otherwise applied. Apparatus 10 further includes one or more heating elements 14 between the imaging sensors 12 and the object, each heating element 14 configured to generate heat energy. In the illustrated embodiment, heating elements 14 are infrared lamps, such as quartz heating elements that have a color temperature in a range from about 1700K to about 1900K. As will be described in more detail below, heating elements 14 are controlled as a function of surface radiation of the object subjacent each particular heating element or combination of adjacent heating elements. A selected number of adjacent heatin...

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Abstract

An ink curing apparatus for curing ink on an object and method includes at least one thermal imaging sensor that is configured to image thermal radiation of the object and at least one heating element that is configured to generate heat energy. A control responsive to the imaging sensor controls the heating element. The control controls the heating element as a function of the thermal radiation of the object to heat the object to a particular radiation level. The method may be used to cure ink on the object. The object may be made of a textile. The method may be used with at least one chosen from screen printing, digital printing, sublimation ink printing, discharge ink printing, and pad printing.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61 / 939,515, filed on Feb. 13, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is directed to a temperature curing apparatus and method. While the invention is described with respect to curing ink on a fabric, it is capable of other applications including other types of ink printing, food preparation, plastic forming, and the like.[0003]Many inks require a certain amount of heat in order to cure. In most print shops, products are produced on a continuous basis at ever-increasing speeds. Traditional curing methods have employed heat presses, drawer dryers, and tunnel dryers. However, as the printing machinery capacity has increased, the associated capacity of the curing technology has remained stagnant.[0004]Tunnel dryers, which exist mainly as gas dryers and infrared dryers, either have a ser...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): B41M7/00D06P5/20
CPCD06P5/2077B41M7/009B41J3/4078B41J11/00216
Inventor BROECKERT, HANS P.HARPOLD, STEPHEN M.
Owner BROWN MFG GRP
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